


What doesn't Kill you, Makes you stronger.

by PYBooks543



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:14:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29356290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PYBooks543/pseuds/PYBooks543
Summary: When Annabeth cheats on Percy, who will he turn to? Rated M for later scenes (Will be crossposted on ffn.net and wattpad) Story has been placed on hiatus. Sorry :(
Relationships: Aphrodite/Artemis, Aphrodite/Percy Jackson, Artemis/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [No Choice](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/759138) by TheMuffinMan6969. 



Chapter 1

A/N: please review and I hope you like this story!

Chapter 1

Percy sat down on the bench, surveying his surroundings. It had been two years since the Second Giant War. It was a cold day in May, but Percy didn't mind. Ever since the break-up, this was the only thing that kept him from ending it all. He liked it because it took his mind off things, or rather her, and he couldn't bear to think about — no. He couldn't. He would come here, every day, every week, for over 6 months. His "spot", was a secluded grove of trees with a bench beside the winding path that stretched through the grounds. And he loved it. But there was always that nagging feeling that would eventually make him get up and head home because he couldn't sit still for that long. It was in his nature and he just couldn't control it.

After the war, the Seven broke up in a way. All the different couples went their separate ways, with Hazel and Frank moving back to Camp Jupiter, now as praetors, Jason and Piper alternating between camps, working on all the new shrines Jason had promised to build. Leo came back with Festus and Calypso after about a month, and there were mixed reactions from most of the campers. As for Percy and Annabeth, well, their relationship blossomed. For almost a year and a half, they were in bliss. That is until Percy found out about Annabeth. And her sneaky, evil, cheating, ways.

But that was beside the point. As Percy made an effort to push those thoughts out of his mind, he heard a distinct melodic hum, followed by the call of a dove, and Aphrodite materialized beside him. Ever since the end of the War, he and Aphrodite (or as he so amicably nicknamed her, Aph) had developed a close bond. After the giants (and Gaia) were defeated, a joint pantheon was called, and the Seven, along with Reyna and Nico were given the choice to become gods. Surprisingly, only Reyna and Nico abstained. The rest accepted their rewards, along with their domains, and became divine. Percy became the god of loyalty and heroes, Annabeth the goddess of architecture. Jason and Piper accepted the domains of air and passion, and for Frank and Hazel, animals and gold. Since they had all now ascended, their prime ages were now set, and they were free to marry and explore all of the benefits that came with godhood. As Percy re-processed these events, Aph cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Ahem."

"Yes, Aph?" Percy replied, catching her eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before Aphrodite blushed and averted her eyes. It was well known that she had a slight crush on the greatest hero of the generation.

"I wanted to apologize again. About you and Annabeth," she said.

"Aph, I already told you, you shouldn't blame yourself for Annabeth's actions. She cheated on me of her own free will. That wasn't you."

Aphrodite sighed with melancholy. " If you say so, Percy. It just saddens me to see you this way, sitting on this bench every day, with no one to keep you company."

"Why don't you keep me company then, Aph," Percy said, his signature smirk plastered on his face.

"Ok then Perce," she said with a smile. And so as they continued to converse, the conversation drifted away from Annabeth, and Percy's spirits began to lift. Hours passed, neither one of them caring about the time or the cold. Finally, as the sun began to wane, shooting streamers of colour through the clouds, Percy got up and made to leave. As he began to walk away, Aph caught his hand. " See you tomorrow?"

"You know where to find me."

And for the first time in six months, Percy left the park with a smile.

The next day, Percy woke up, groggy from watching all of that tv from the night before. As he made his way towards the bathroom, he thought about yesterday and his conversation with Aphrodite. After finishing up in the restroom, he made his way downstairs towards the kitchen. There he found Nico, splayed out on his couch, still in his work clothes. After refusing godhood, Nico and Reyna had chosen instead to pledge themselves to their god of choice. Reyna had stepped down as predator and was now co-lieutenant with Thalia in the Hunt, and Nico now managed his father's affairs in the underworld, working closely with the Furies and Thanatos, rounding up escaping souls and other important jobs that required the touch of the son of Hades.

Seeing Nico lying on his couch was now a normal occurrence, even though he was in a relationship with Will Solace, son of Apollo. Nico told Percy that he wasn't ready to go that far yet, but on occasion, he would bed over at Will's apartment. Nico would come home late after staying up nearly all night working at Hades' palace. Today though, Nico looked really out of it. His cousin had pronounced shadows under his eyes and he was so pale, Dracula himself would have fainted in horror.

Percy shuffled over to the son of Hades, still clad in only his pyjamas, and shook him awake.

"Hey, Nico?"

Nico let out a groan and flipped over. He looked at Percy with red, bloodshot eyes. "Why do I even exist?.."

Percy spoke in a soft tone to not bother Nico. "I don't think you should go to work today, okay?"

"I don't think so either." Nico groaned again and said, "why does my head hurt so much?" before flipping over again. Percy then made his way to the kitchen and called out to Nico, " Hey, If you want to sleep in my guest room, that's fine, man."

Nico responded with a muffled "ok sure" but didn't move. Percy then said, "I also may or may not be going out with some today." Nico shot up from the couch with wide eyes and shouted, " WHAT? I gotta tell everyone! Percy Jackson's going on a date!" Nico started dancing around while also trying to find his phone so that he could call everyone. Percy laughed and then said to Nico, " It's not a date, ok? I'm just going out to talk with Aph." Nico responded with an "ugh" and then plopped down on the couch. "Percy, why don't you ever get a real date? You're a god, and you're pretty hot if I do say so myself. So why don't you date anyone, even if you end up breaking up with them?"

"Well Nico, since I'm the god of loyalty— "

"I know you're the god of loyalty, but I don't understand why you can't date anyone!"

"I can't date anyone because that would mean getting into a permanent relationship!"

"Then what about Annabeth?" said Nico, obviously confused.

"Annabeth cheated on me, ok? She deserved to be dumped!" Percy then clapped his hands over his mouth and turned away, horrified at what he had let slip. Percy had never told anyone about the "scandal" and wasn't sure about Nico's reaction.

Nico, of course, was still in shock from what he had heard. "Percy, she CHEATED on you? How could she? You told us that you were breaking up for personal — oh, you were scared of being — ok, I understand. Percy, your secret is safe with me, ok? I swear it on the Styx." A clap of thunder rippled through the sky as Nico finished his statement.

Percy turned around and looked at Nico. "Nico, if anyone finds out about this, people will be talking about it for years. This needs to stay quiet, okay?". Nico was silent for a moment as he regarded Percy with a sense of sympathy. "Perce, I told you, your secret is safe with me. I won't bring it up again. Now, I'm going to get some rest, but you should make some breakfast and then get ready for your date!" said Nico in a sing-songy voice. Percy rolled his eyes but then realized that what his cousin had just said was probably true. He wasn't going out on his own, so he needed to dress up. This was the goddess of love, after all. She wasn't going to stand for dirty clothes or sweatpants. And Percy wasn't going to give her that.

After finishing up the omelet he made, Percy went upstairs to go get ready. As he passed the guest room, he could hear Nicos' snores as the child of Hades navigated the dream world. Percy made his way to his bedroom, pulled open the closet door and immersed himself in fashion.

As Percy stepped out of his condo, he made sure to lock the door behind him. Not that Nico couldn't defend himself, but because he didn't want his house to get robbed whilst he was out chatting up Aphrodite. He knew that by the time he got home, Nico would probably be gone, most likely to spend the night at Wills', or to explain to his father why he hadn't come to work that day.

Percy wondered what route to take, and decided on Park Avenue, a long road that ran adjacent to Central. His route would go like this: after exiting his condo on East 50th, he would turn left and keep going until he hit the intersection at Park. From there he would continue on north, where he would hang a left on East 60th and keep going west until he arrived at Central Park. then he would make his way up east, drive and finally reach his secluded grove and bench.

When he got there, Percy was surprised to see no one there yet, but he wasn't complaining. One of the reasons he came here was because of the quiet. As he sat down, he relished in the warm spring air. It wasn't too hot but wasn't too cold either, and it provided a stark contrast to yesterday's frigidity. After around 15 minutes, Percy was fully at peace (even with his ADHD; nature did things to him and he was in a peaceful mood today) and he began to doze. About three hours later, Percy was jostled awake by the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It took him a moment to rise out of his stupor and realize aphrodite was there, smiling down at him.

"Aphrodite?" he asked, obviously stunned by what she was wearing. What she was wearing, though, was amazing. She was wearing a short, turquoise skirt with black leggings and a button-up blazer of the same colour. She had applied makeup in ways that accentuated her facial features so much so that her beauty carried her above everyone else. But Percy wasn't complaining. As a matter of fact, he was considering getting down on his knees and begging, she was so hot.

"Miss me, Perce?" she asked with a devilish grin.

"Of course," said Percy back sarcastically, barely stopping himself from drooling, "it's been so boring, what with Nico crashing in my house and me staying up all night watching tv."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes and then gave him a once over.

"Perce, you know, you didn't have to dress up for me, right?" she said with a smirk, secretly pleased that he had. Percy was wearing dark blue jeans and a designer black jacket. He had managed to tame his wild hair using a multitude of hair sprays and gels and underneath his jacket, he wore a white cotton t-shirt that fit him snugly.

"Astute observation, Aph, but how do you know I dressed up for you?"

Now it was her turn to be shocked. But as Percy burst into peals of laughter, Aphrodite couldn't help herself from giggling as well, he had gotten her so bad. As she sat down on the bench beside him, Aphrodite began to feel as though their friendship was beginning to heal. She shuffled over to Percy's side and rested her head on his shoulder. Percy, who was surprised by this at first but then relaxed and put his head on top of hers.

"Hey Perce?" Aphrodite asked softly.

"Yeah?" as he quietly hoped she would voice what was on his mind.

"Can we do this every day?" as she snuggled into his chest.

YES! "Sure thing, if that's what you want, Aph." he wrapped an arm around her as they enjoyed the warmth and each other's company. And for the second time that week, a warm feeling blossomed in his chest spreading outwards to the tips of his extremities, letting him know that he was not alone in this. Not alone indeed.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

A/N: So, what'd you think? this is my first fic, and this is also available on ffn.net and wattpad. i'd love to hear what you guys think! please leave a comment with your opinion and thanks so much!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter 2, here you go! As always, please leave a review!  
Chapter 2

It was now four weeks since that day, and Percy was happy. His relationship with Aphrodite had grown past friendship, even though neither of them wanted to address it. When Percy talked to Jason about it, his friend told him this:

"Listen Perce. The deal with women is you gotta take it easy. Don't ignore them or they'll start to gravitate away from you, and try to show her a good time. Like, I don't know, bring her flowers. Take her on dates. Make her feel appreciated. Unlike that jerk Ares."

It was now a known fact that Ares had been abusing Aphrodite. A week into their "relationship", Aphrodite had materialized into Percy's condo, tears streaking down her beautiful face, and told him that Ares had beaten her. It had taken Jason and Frank to stop him from lopping the war gods' head off right then and there. As Piper and Hazel comforted Aphrodite, Percy, Jason and Frank had devised a way to get back at Ares for the way he had treated Aphrodite, all without causing a civil war on Olympus.

The plan was first, to ask Zeus if Aphrodite could have a divorce from Hephaestus. The tricky part about this was getting the Fire god to agree, so the boys called up Leo, who after hearing what had happened and what the plan was, heartily agreed to the idea. Then, they would inform, in front of the council of the gods, what had happened to Aphrodite (Aphrodite would not be in attendance) and Ares would be wholly shamed. This wouldn't be entirely scandalous on Aph's part, because everyone already knew that she and Ares had been dating for millennia, so Ares would take the brunt of the accusation. This would solve the problem of her and Percy not being able to be together, and kick Ares out of the question forever.

All of this fell into place, with Hephaestus agreeing, stating that although Aphrodite was beautiful and he loved her, he didn't want to restrict her from her true potential as a goddess and that being married to "an old catchers mitt" like him wouldn't be fair. Aphrodite shed a few tears over the subject, but the two made peace, and they parted as acquaintances if not necessarily friends.

During the council of the gods, Ares was sentenced to 25 years in stasis, only to be called on in the case of a major crisis. Zeus made it clear that Ares was getting off very easy, and that the punishment would be much harsher if it happened again. All of the gods (except Ares) voted for this outcome, and the motion was passed. Percy and Aphrodite could now have a happy relationship together without disturbance or guilt.

As Percy bustled around in the kitchen, he thought about Jason's advice."Take her on dates. Make her feel appreciated." Percy thought this was a good idea. And so he began to think about things he could do with her, things that would make her really want for him. For the past few weeks, he and Aphrodite had been taking those romantic "cheesy" dates that you usually see in television programs. He had taken her to the movies, brought her to the grove for a picnic, and he even took her skiing up north in Canada. But he wanted more. He felt that he wasn't giving her enough as a partner and he wanted to show her that he was serious about their relationship.

So he got onto his computer (which now worked, given the fact that he was a god) and something caught his eye. He was going to surprise her with the most heartfelt date ever.

〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜 That night 〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

As Percy arrived at Aph's palace, he stopped to admire its beauty before carrying on up the ruby bedecked pathway. The estate was built with slabs of opal, and gold-tinged black marble pillars towered over him as he strode (proper word conjugation, thank you very much) up the turquoise ascent. Flora and fauna were abundant all over the grounds, and Percy was very apprehensive of the fish and coral that decorated a sectioned-off part of the demesne. As he neared the ascent, he produced a simple, yet stunning, blue-on-red corsage that was layered to perfection.

Through Nico, he had gotten in contact with Persephone, and she, with too much time on her hands, had spent most of the day creating this wonderfully small albeit amazing array of flowers. Percy had chosen the two colours for her and him, foreshadowing both where they were going for the night and also his feelings about what they had.

As he finally reached the huge set of oak doors, he rang the intricate doorbell, and a series of chimes filled the air. As the tintinnabulation came to an end, he heard Aphrodite sing, "Com-ing!" and the threshold swung open to reveal… the Love goddess herself, in a scorching hot ball gown and a corset that really showed off her cleavage. The ball gown itself was emerald, and she was wearing a simple silver necklace with a pearl inlaid into the pendant. Her purse was also silver, and it had no strap, so she was carrying it by hand. Once again, she had done her makeup to perfection, but this time she had applied a shocking red lipstick that truly brought out her hazel eyes. She smelled like sex, marshmallows and chocolate, and Percy thought that there was no better scent in the world, then what he was smelling right now.

Aphrodite laughed at the way Percy was looking at her and Percy thought that he could just live off of it. She then deadpanned, "Well Percy, I'm honestly impressed, you actually look nice for once," before she burst into laughter again after seeing the look on his face.

Percy realized she was joking, but quickly checked himself to see if anything was wrong with his apparel. Tonight, he was wearing a smart, blue sweater over a white dress shirt and khaki pants. He had once again managed to tame his hair, and he noted that this was getting much easier, now that he was actually paying attention to his looks. He had called on Piper for help when doing all this, and although she wasn't very excited to see Percy and her mom dating, she was more than happy to provide him with fashion tips. When you're a child of the Love goddess, you can never pass up the opportunity to dress up your friend.

As Percy gave Aphrodite another once over, trying not to pay attention to that glorious cleavage of hers, he realized that her ball gown would not be able to function where they were going. After giving her the corsage, to which she remarked:

"My, my, Percy, this is absolutely gorgeous! Where did you acquire the talents and the craftsmanship for this kind of splendour?"

And he responded with an air of fake grandeur:

"I'll never tell, you flighty temptress!"

And they both started giggling, unable to control themselves until finally, Percy asked between pants, "That ball gown, *pant* is too big *pant* for where we're *pant* going."

Aphrodite then replied, saying, "That's ok Perce," and then she pressed a cleverly disguised button on her purse, making the whole gown deflate into an equally hot dress that accentuated all of her curves. The corset also deflated slightly, disappearing into the folds of the dress, taking with it a portion of the cleavage, but still leaving an ample view for Percy via the v-neck. Percy, slightly disappointed but relieved, offered his hand to the lady in front of him.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

As they strolled down the side of the hill, the pairs' conversation gravitated toward the different greek gods and goddesses.

"So what do you think about my dad?" asked Percy.

"Well honestly, he's a bit of prick sometimes," and as she made that statement, Percy nervously looked around, wondering if his dad might materialize and smack Aphrodite into the ground. But Aphrodite just smirked and said to him, "Percy, please. We're gods. We insult each other ALL the time. So you can get over your fear of your dad and relax for like, three seconds." At this Percy turned around with a confused look etched onto his face. "Wait, do you mean dad can't hear us?"

"Nope. The only ones who can hear us are the animals and the plants around us," she replied.

"Well then," Percy said, as his tone began to rise, "I do believe that I've been waiting to say this since I was fourteen. Hera, You. Are. A. SHITHEAD." This last word he yelled out to the whole mountain, and as Aphrodite laughed her ass off behind him, Percy felt that the evening was already off to a great start.

After finally making it to the bottom of the incline, laughing and chatting the whole time, Percy whistled his loudest taxi cab whistle and after a few moments, Blackjack appeared.

"Hey, boss! Where to today?," Blackjack whinnied in Percy's mind.

"Blackjack, how many times have I told you not to call me boss? And besides, you can't ask me that in front of the lady!" Percy hissed, trying to be as discreet as possible. " Anyways, you already know where we're going tonight."

Blackjack neighed and shook his head. "Sorry boss, my stupid memory can't keep track of anything. By the way, as I was flying here I saw this AMAZING donut shop — but he was interrupted by Percy gritting his teeth and motioning his head towards Aphrodite, who was tapping her foot and playing with her corsage, obviously bored. "You guys should probably hop on now. There's time to discuss donuts later." He then motioned with his wing for them to get on his back.

Aphrodite looked up as Percy swung himself onto Blackjack and then extended his hand towards her. "Milady?" Aphrodite giggled as Percy took her outstretched hand and pulled her up, remarking at how fast Percy could go from relaxed and laid-back to courteous and gentlemanly. As Blackjack rose slowly off the ground, beating his magnificent plumage, Aphrodite wrapped her arms around Percy's waist and laid her head on his shoulder. Percy whispered something to her, but it was lost to the wind before she could hear it. But she understood what he meant. And it made her heart melt. I love you.

As they soared upwards, Aphrodite clung tightly to Percy's waist, fearful of falling. Although she would never admit it to anyone, Aphrodite may have had a slight fear of heights. By which that meant an extreme fear of heights. And so as she tried very hard not to look down, she closed her eyes and made an effort to focus on the scent of Percy's cologne and the wind whistling in her ears, rather than the enormous expanse of space between them and the ground. When Blackjack finally reached cruising altitude, Percy gently eased Aph's arms from around his waist and placed them on his shoulders. As he made to let go, Aph stopped him.

"Percy?"

"Yeah", he replied, looking back at her slightly.

"Don't let go." Aphrodite's voice trembled as she spoke.

"Of course." And they flew on.

Finally, Aphrodite worked up the courage to ask where they were going. Percy was privately happy she asked because it gave him something to talk about. "Well, I've planned us out a romantic evening and a candlelit dinner. But.. I'm not going to tell you where we're going, because I don't want to ruin the surprise." Aph was confused. "Percy, why are you doing all of this for me? Not that I don't want you to," At that, Percy smiled, "but at least tell me why you took all the time to make this." Percy knew that Aphrodite hated surprises and that she was going to throw a fit if he didn't tell her soon. But Percy simply ignored her comment and said, " You'll see." Aphrodite ground her teeth behind him and Blackjack, who was paying attention to the conversation, and said in Percy's mind "Damn boss, that goddess be steamed." Percy mentally rolled his eyes. "Blackjack, focus on flying, not spying." The pegasus simply snorted and shook his mane, as if laughing to himself. And they kept going. Time and space started to bend around the flying horse, and suddenly they were zooming through clouds at exponential speeds, there one second, gone the next.

As they neared their destination, Blackjack slowly increased his descent, winding his way down until the clouds stopped bending. Blackjack dove through the cloud cover, revealing the beautiful city of Paris sprawled out beneath them, basking in the glorious sunset. Night was slowly falling, and in effect, the lights of the city slowly began to initiate, each one adding to the blend of colours that was the French city.

Instead of setting them down, though, Blackjack instead made his way towards "Les Champs de Mars" and The Eiffel Tower. They flew straight over the fields, heading directly towards the top of the tower. Blackjack came to a sudden halt. "Hey, boss? You sure you wanna go up there? 'Cause, there are some guys with guns, and they don't seem too happy." Aph was confused for a second because while she couldn't hear Blackjack speaking, she could sense the concern coming off of him in waves. She then realized that this was Percy's pegasus and that Blackjack was very loyal. This probably meant that when Percy had been given the gift of godhood, he had rewarded Blackjack for his years of service by giving him the ability to sense danger.

Percy laughed. "Not to worry, Blackjack. Those men are mine. I've stationed them there so that no regular mortal may deign to enter. Only the rich have access." Blackjack huffed, as if sighing with relief, and flew on. When they finally reached the Tower, Percy pulled a box out of thin air as Blackjack set them down. Percy also created a small table, which he then placed the box on top of. He opened the box and said to Blackjack, "Here, bud. A reward for your efforts." The box was chock full of donuts, but it wouldn't be for long, because as soon as Blackjack saw them, he whinnied and dug in quicker than you could say, "Carbohydrates".

Leaving Blackjack to the now near-desiccated pastries, Percy took Aphrodites' hand and pulled her along. When they neared the doors, they stopped for a moment, panting and out of breath, but still snorting with laughter, one of the two guards at the doors called out to them in halting English. "What aire you two doing 'ere?" he said viciously, "'Zis floor is reztricted to VIPs only!" Aphrodite, offended, responded fluently in their native language. "C'est ridicule comment vous nous parlez. C'est inacceptable, et je ne le tolérerai pas!" At this, she turned her back on the guards and made a small "Hmph!" noise. Percy stepped out of the shadows and said in stilting french: "Vraiment, les gens, ça s'est comment vouz parlez a mon femme?" (Really, guys? Is that how you speak to my girlfriend?) The two guards, now realizing their mistake, glanced at each other and the other guard spoke. "Nous sommes désolés, monsieur, nous ne vous avons pas reconnu dans la faible lumière. Cela ne se reproduira pas, nous vous le promettons." (We're sorry, sir, we didn't recognize you in the dim light. It won't happen again, we promise.)

Percy, satisfied with the guards' response, took Aph's arm again and they entered the suite. Suddenly the atmosphere turned bright and lively, rich couples bustling around drinking and mingling. Lounge chairs and loveseats were scattered around the luxurious abode, and since most of the people here were American, here to chat, watch the view and show off their wives, light jazz played in the background. Aphrodite discreetly snapped her fingers and suddenly hers and Percy's hairdos were immediately transformed from wind-blown rats-nets to their original states. Percy was just about to run his fingers through his luscious locks, but Aph caught his hand and gave him a stern look. Percy caught her drift and put his hand down slowly.

One of the waiters with a platter of drinks in hand approached them and asked " Voulez-vous une table, monsieur?"(would you like a table, sir?). Percy responded with a "Oui, s'il vous plaît",(yes, please) and the waiter led them away from the lounge. Instead of bringing them to one of the tables scattered throughout the suite, however, he took them outside to the balcony and sat them down at a table overlooking the Seine. Before he left, he offered them a drink from the platter. When they both declined, he said to them, " Un de mes collègues sera ici à côté de pas de temps" (One of my colleagues will be here shortly).

As the waiter left, Percy took Aphrodites' hand.

"Thank you for coming here with me tonight. It means a lot to me."

Aphrodite blushed. "Well, who am I to say no to the Hero of Olympus himself, am I right?"

Percy laughed. "I guess not." They sat for a moment just staring into each other's eyes, Percy's sea green, Aphrodites; a swirling, kaleidoscopic mix. Suddenly, another waiter appeared, shaking them out of their stupor, asking what they wanted to drink. He gave them menus which they took and looked at. Aph glanced at Percy, who looked like he was still deciding, so she went first. "I'll have the...uh...The Mexican Sunset!". Percy's eyebrow shot up, surprised at what he was hearing. The Mexican Sunset was a pineapple and silver tequila cocktail, a quarter of which was just alcohol. And it sounded like that was what his date was getting. Percy, not wanting to be out-drank by his own girlfriend, said quickly, "I'll get 6 shots of vodka, and a glass of water with lemon." Aph was shocked but managed to contain herself as the waiter took down their order and left.

When he was finally gone, Aph burst out "Percy! I didn't know you were a vodka person!"

"HA! And I didn't know you were into drinking at all," said Percy with a smile. Aph grinned and said "We've all got our secrets, Percy. And yours, apparently, is that you enjoy getting wasted."

"Guilty as charged. It's been my soft spot these past few months." The tension between them immediately increased tenfold, both of them thinking about Annabeth. Percy eased it though when he said "The number of times Nico found me on the floor is abysmal. This one time— " but Aph stopped him there, putting up her hand and simply saying "I don't wanna hear it.". With the tension relieved, the mood turned much more jovial and the conversational banter continued. At long last, the waiter finally returned with their drinks. As soon as he set Percy's shots on the table, he snatched one up and downed it in a single gulp. Aphrodite laughed as she too took a sip of her drink and set it down. Then the waiter asked what they wanted as entrées. Aph mulled over it for a moment, before replying with "I'll have the loaded baked potato and a side of caesar salad, EXTRA dressing, if you will." "Très bien, madame," the waiter added, before moving on to Percy. "And you, sir?" Percy also took his time deciding. "Hmm.. I reckon I'll have the..uh..Smoked Salmon with steamed vegetables. That'll be all for now, I think". The waiter finished scribbling the order down on his notepad and left. Aph took another sip of her drink and Percy suddenly realized how amazing the goddess of Love was. The warm sensation started spreading again and it spurred his confidence. When Aphrodite set her drink down, Percy took her by both hands, pulled her real close, and said in a low husky voice, "You make me feel things."

And then he kissed her. And it was freaking' amazing. As their lips pressed up against each other, Percy teased his tongue against her lips, demanding entrance, and Aphrodite was very happy to let him in. As their tongues clashed, battling for dominance, they made their way around the table until Aph was pressed up against the guardrail, her hand on the back of his head, and his sliding down her waist. After a while they stopped, both of them gasping for breath, neither one of them able to stop smiling.

Aphrodite snapped her fingers and their ruffled clothes and hair once again reverted to their original forms. They sat down and moments later, two kitchen staff came out of the lounge carrying with them the couples' dinner. When Percy and Aph finished up their entrées, another waiter came around, asking if they wanted dessert. Percy looked at her in question but she shook her head. "Juste la facture, s'il vous plaît" (just the bill, please.), he said. After paying for the meal, the couple got up. "My place?", said Percy. "Nope." She grinned. "We're going to mine." As they made to leave, A sudden flash of silver and the "thwap" of an arrow being shot stopped them in their tracks. "Percy," said Artemis, "Olympus needs you." And then, in another flash, she was gone.

END OF CHAPTER 2

A/N: And that's the and of Chapter 2! hope you liked it! leave your thoughts down below, and ill see you in chapter 3!

PYB543


	3. Chapter 3

Percy stood there in shock before vanishing in his own flash of bronze. Aphrodite followed suit, all three gods zooming through the air at hundreds of miles per hour. Percy reached out to Artemis, trying to grab her semi-transparent hand. Succeeding, he brought the whole group down in a matter of seconds.

The trio crash-landed into a cornfield somewhere near the city of Chartres. All of them tumbled end over end until, finally, Aphrodite put a stop to it by throwing her hands out, bringing them to a halt. Artemis immediately got up in a rage and started yelling at Percy.

"What the hell was that?" she asked furiously. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"You know, maybe if you stopped to think for once, you could've read what was on our minds and actually EXPLAINED what was going on!" Percy responded with just as much anger.

This continued on for some time before Aphrodite, sitting there bored, had had enough.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed. "Both of you are acting like whiny brats. Artemis, instead of boycotting against Percy as if he's the whole male gender, can you PLEASE tell us what's going on. It's the least you could do after interrupting us right as we were about to—"

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, NO," said Artemis, shaking her head. "I've been a virgin for 4000 years. You are NOT spoiling that for me now."

Percy laughed, "Is that what you think—"

"We are not having this conversation right now, especially when Olympus is once again on the brink of a civil war."

Percy became very serious, "A civil war? What happened now? Did someone steal something or—"

"Percy, Apollo told me to come to get you because you're the only one who can stop this madness."

"But can you at least tell me why they're fighting?"

Artemis just sighed, "You'll see when we get there." And with that, she dematerialized into the wind.

Aphrodite eyed the spot where the goddess of the Hunt had been, "I mean, she's hot, but man is she ever a handful."

Percy just shook his head, "Come on. We'd better go before Dad and Zeus blow up Western civilization."

When they finally reached Olympus, Artemis was already there waiting for them. As the wind whistled and thunder boomed up the slope, Artemis looked at the couple apprehensively before gesturing for them to follow her.

Since Ares was still in stasis, the aggression and tension were considerably lower in the hall of the gods, though there was still plenty caused by the argument. Most of the other gods were bored and looked up as Percy and Aphrodite made their way into the Parthenon, pleased to see a way out of this stupid quarrel.

Percy ignored what was going on and instead made his way to his unimpressive seat of power in the corner of the throne room. He didn't mind that he wasn't a full Olympian; he was glad that he had a throne at all.

Aphrodite spoke in his mind, 'Percy, do something, I don't wanna be here all night.'

Apollo joined in, 'Yeah, cuz their stupid argument isn't something I'm a part of.'

Suddenly, all the Olympians started yelling at Percy directly into his mind, begging him to do something, as they couldn't. Percy was fed up.

'Alright!' he shouted inside his own head. 'I'll do something, ok? Just calm down for like three effing seconds!'

Most of the gods backed off as Percy stood up, but Zeus and Poseidon ignored him and continued to yell at each other instead. Percy was fed up.

*This part of the story has been authorized for use by the original writer.*

"ENOUGH!" he roared, shutting both of them up, and leaving the throne room in stunned silence.

"Enough of this stupid arguing! You two are constantly arguing about every little thing that happens, but you have absolutely no reason to! Not only that, but every time you two fight, you force the rest of us to come and watch you two scream at each other! I think I speak for everyone here when I say that it's getting really fucking annoying," he yelled, continuing to shock them, but the rant wasn't over.

"I mean, seriously! Can you two just SHUT UP! You're fighting over a girl you weren't even supposed to touch! You two are married, for Hera's sake! Zeus, your wife is sitting right there as you argue over your mistress without any thought or care about how she feels about all this," Percy pointed out, making him flush in embarrassment as Hera glared at him. Surprisingly, the goddess of Family smiled gratefully at him.

"And Dad!" Percy screamed, making the god in question jump in his seat. "I expected better from you! Not only did you cheat on Amphitrite yet again, but you threatened to kill two of my best friends. What the hell is wrong with you?" Dad sat back down and blushed as he thought over everything he said.

Now Percy had calmed down, he sighed. He rubbed his temples due to the stress and turned back to both of the gods. "You two need to sort out your shit privately, from now on. Either that or SHUT UP AND GET ALONG!" Percy yelled, stomping over and plopping himself back down on his throne, worn out from all the shouting.

*End of excerpt*

Both gods shared a glance after Percy had sat down. They mentally conversed for a few minutes before addressing the council as a whole.

Zeus spoke first, "My brethren, for millennia, both mine and Poseidon's kingdoms have clashed, fighting and squabbling over things that should not be fought over."

At this, the other Olympians looked at each other and Dionysus raised a hand. "Hear hear," he said.

The assembled gods laughed at this and Zeus looked pointedly at his son before letting Poseidon continue, "It is time for the era of pain and battle to end. This day will mark an occasion of happiness. I propose an arranged marriage!"

The Olympians were in an uproar. There was total pandemonium and nobody could hear what anyone was saying. Percy didn't stand up again though. He sat there, waiting silently for the bomb to drop. Finally, Poseidon took his trident and slammed it down onto the floor, nearly cracking the smooth marble tile.

"Enough!" he cried, unable to witness any more of this disarray. "My and Zeus' agreement is final. My son Perseus and Artemis are to be married in three months' time."

The room went pin-drop silent as they watched for the other gods' reactions. Percy and Artemis stood up in sync, ready to start protesting and then Zeus raised his hand and they were zapped away.

Far away, in a room that neither of them could escape (Hephaestus' doing), Percy and Artemis were beside themselves. The room had two chairs and a table but was bare besides the three pieces.

Artemis started to pace, but Percy just sat down and put his head in his hands. Eventually, Artemis stopped fuming and sat down as well.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know that you had something going with Aphrodite.

Suddenly, the love goddess was there. "That's my name, don't wear it out," she joked, summoning a chair and spinning it so that it faced backwards. She sat down beside Percy and hugged him, "Don't worry, Perce. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Percy sighed, "That's the thing Aph. I'm not sure we can. You remember my domain, right?"

She made an effort to remember and then said, "It's loyalty, right? That and heroes. I think." Then she realized, "Oh. you're the god of loyalty. You can't cheat on her. You're stuck with her forever."

Artemis scoffed. She had been listening to the conversation haphazardly but now she felt it was a good time to intervene. "STUCK with me? I think not. He's one of the few men I can bear to be in the presence of. I may not love him, but he's still my friend."

Percy's jaw dropped, and he could see that Aphrodite was gaping at Artemis too.

Percy spoke up first, "Thank you Lady Artemis. I know this won't be easy for you, or your Hunters. Hopefully, this can be a relationship that we can work on. If you don't want to be around me, that's ok. After the wedding, we can go our separate ways. If that is what you wish, you will never have to see me again."

Before Artemis could respond, however, Zeus appeared in the room with a clap of thunder. "Hopefully," he said, "you two have gotten over yourselves. Are you ready to leave?"

Artemis and Percy both droned a yes, and Zeus snapped them away again.

Percy groaned and rubbed his temples, "I hate it when he does that. It's almost as bad as the Titans."

Artemis strode into the Hunters' camp, for they had been deposited right outside. Percy followed her, and he made his way into the camp, too. As he wound his way through the path, he attracted glares from campers old and new, all of them savvy of the goings-on in the throne room.

Artemis looked back. When she saw what was going on, she addressed the girls, "My Hunters. As you already must know, Perseus and I have been betrothed. This is not his fault. He was merely trying to defuse a situation that could have caused the end of the Olympians. I, nor any of the other Olympians knew this was what would've happened, and I hope that you will deign to treat him with the same respect that you treat me."

The younger hunters weren't exactly as biased, and therefore nodded their approval, but the older hunters shot angry glances at Percy as they continued on.

Finally, they reached Artemis' personal tent. Percy wasn't sure what to do, but the moon goddess waved him in, looking almost exasperated by his humble air.

Leaving him at the entrance to her tent, she went over to a side table, where a small canteen was at the ready. She took two metal cups and poured hot chocolate for each of them.

"Marshmallows?" she asked, not even looking at the Hero of Olympus.

Percy was snapped out of his daze. He had been ogling the sheer amount of severed heads on one side of her tent. There were many that he couldn't recognize, but he did find the head of a hydra and even a hellhound. "Umm...Oh! Yes, marshmallows, please."

Artemis went back to the chocolates. "Admiring my collection?" she asked, slightly amused at his awe. She was confused because if Percy had thought to preserve his spoils-of-war, his heads might have exceeded her own collection.

The goddess of the Hunt brushed the thought aside, picking up the two scalding drinks and setting them down on another table, this one at the center of the room. She called her fellow god over, "The only Monster we haven't caught is the ever-elusive Teumessien— "

Percy interrupted her, "The Teumessian Fox, right? What is up with that.? Whenever I—or anyone else, for that matter—hears from the Hunt, it's always about that specific monster. I don't understand why it's so important." He had a look of genuine confusion on his face, so much so that Artemis found him too adorable to reprimand for interrupting.

Wait, adorable? What were these thoughts that crossed her mind? She hated men, and yet here she was, thinking that the man she had to marry was adorable. Nevermind, she had a pretense to keep up.

She laughed at Percy's question, "Perseus, do you understand why the Hunt was formed?"

"Umm. The Hunt was formed… so that girls didn't have to marry… or something like that." In Percy's opinion, that was a pretty good answer.

Artemis laughed again, "Yes Percy, but other than that, do you know any other reason?"

Percy shook his head, stumped.

"The Hunt was created to hunt the Teumessian Fox. Since its creation millennia ago, the beast has wreaked havoc upon countless civilizations. Finally, my hunters and I were called upon to catch this creature. Sadly, the creature has been destined by the fates never to be caught. This is why my hunters are given eternal life, once they make the pledge. It is so that they may forever hunt the immortal beast that plagues the world. And also it gives us something fun to do. Does that answer your question?" she asked, taking a long sip of her hot chocolate and watching as Percy processed all of this information.

After a big gulp of his now cooled-down drink, he said, "So the Hunt was created as a feminist cult that chases down an animal that is destined to never be caught. For fun." He blanched nervously, "No offence."

Artemis made a face, "None taken. And yes, that about sums it up."

Percy shrugged, "So, you gonna tell why you brought me here? I'm getting the feeling this wasn't exactly… planned."

Artemis took a deep breath before letting the word spill out of her mouth, "Percy, you have no idea how happy I am that it's you. For 4000 years, I've been a virgin, and men have always been a subject of disgust for me. But it all changed 5 years ago when you saved me. It was the first time I was grateful for any man other than my twin. If I am to get married, you are truly the only man who I would let take my maidenhood. Please know that despite what my hunters think, I would never fault you for the actions of our fathers." Artemis finished her statement, angrily brushing away the tears that were spilling down her cheeks.

Percy crossed the gap between them and put his arm around her shoulder and held her. At first, the goddess stiffened, but then she relaxed into the embrace, deeply saddened by the day's turn of events.

After a bit, Percy spoke softly into her ear. "Artemis, I will never force you to do something you don't want. If you don't want to lose your virginity, I fully support your decision. I swear to you on the Styx that I will never touch you or initiate any sexual contact with you unless you allow or instigate it. If you want this relationship to be physical, you'll have to be the one to initiate it."

The Moon goddess looked up, tear tracks staining her beautiful pale cheeks. Percy had to resist the urge to wipe them away. "So you won't force me to have sex with you? You'll let me keep my virginity, even if it means you'll never have children?" she asked, hesitant.

Percy shook his head, "I would never hurt you, and if that is your choice, then so be it. As for children, if we choose to, there is always the possibility of adopting a mortal child."

He looked up. Through the plastic skylight that was woven into the ceiling of the tent, Percy saw that Apollo's descent had begun, and the day's light was slowly fading. He looked down at Artemis, who was still leaning into him, gently extricated his arm from around her. "I should go now," he said. "It wouldn't be courteous to stay here any longer. I'm sure you have things to do, and I don't want the hunters thinking I've gone and done something to you."

A furious struggle ensued Artemis' heart and mind, and her heart won out. Before Percy could exit the tent, she dashed towards him, caught his arm and pulled the god of Loyalty close. "You said it yourself," she said in a low voice, "it's my choice."

END OF CHAPTER 3

A/N: So sorry, this is being placed on hiatus, hopefully i will be able to write more, but I'm swamped rn soo... This should be enough for now, I will upload a 2-shot that should be compensation for the whole no-update thing.

-PYB543

also,  
Huge shoutout to my beta's; ZriptideZ,AshenMoon42, and AIemily360. Pls go check them out!


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